Australia will send one of its strongest ever Olympic swimming teams to this year's Beijing Games with seven individual long-course world record holders named in a 42-strong squad here Saturday.The traditional swimming power finalised its team after the national trials which netted eight world records, headed by the sport's current fastest male and female swimmers, Eamon Sullivan and Libby Trickett.
Sullivan and Trickett broke 50-metre freestyle world records during the trials to underline Australia's sprinting strength.
Australia's other current long-course world record holders are Grant Hackett, Leisel Jones, Jessicah Schipper, Stephanie Rice and Sophie Edington.
Australian Olympic Committee chief John Coates believes the swim team is on track to improve on their record medal haul from Athens at Beijing.
Pre-trials rankings had the Australian swim team bringing home 18 medals from Beijing, and Coates said those expectations were still just as high considering their phenomenal form four months out from the Games.
"We've shown the performances of our sports last year and it calculated around 45 (medals) and they were predicated with the case of swimming on 18," Coates said.
"Nothing here has concerned me about not getting those numbers."
Australia with 15 medals, seven of them gold, finished second to the United States (28/12) in Athens and were runners-up behind the USA at last year's world championships in Melbourne, 36 medals to 21.
Australian head coach Alan Thompson said he is expecting the upcoming trials for other nations, notably USA in late June, to seriously challenge some of the recent performances by his team but says the ultimate judgement will be made in China.
"How good we are will be decided on the 18th of August (last day of swimming)," he said.
"As of now we have put a good performance on the board."
Hackett, bidding for a record three Olympic 1500m gold medals in Beijing, will be joined by fellow triple Olympians Jones, Adam Pine and Ashley Callus.
Twelve other swimmers are off to their second Olympics and there are 26 Olympic rookies, with backstroker Emily Seebohm the youngest member of the team aged 15.
The team announcement came after the conclusion of what has been rated one of the fastest national Olympic trials staged in the country.
There were eight world records, a further 13 Commonwealth records and another four Australian records established during the eight days' competition.
The Olympic team announcement at the Sydney Olympic pool was made in front of a gathering of Olympic gold medallists including Dawn Fraser, Shane Gould, John Devitt, Murray Rose, John Konrads, Michelle Ford and Jon Seiben.
Source : AFP
